Mungo National Park, Australia

The Mungo National Park is a remote and beautiful place of dramatic contrasts in the far southwestern part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is 980 Kilometers west Sydney (around 12 hours by car) in the region known as Balranald Shire. The Mungo National Park covers around 27 850 hectares of a World Heritage area known as Willandra Lakes, which is a chain of dried-out lakes that were once strung between Willandra Creek and the main channel of the Lachlan River, in Outback New South Wales. Since, this area has been continuously inhabited by human during 40000 years; this park contains the oldest archeological remains found in Australia.The Willandra Lakes Region includes seventeen dry lakes, being the Lake Mungo (which is the second largest of the dry lakes) the most important feature of the National Park. The Mungo National Park is famous by the remains of the Mungo Man, which are the oldest human remains discovered in Australia. Besides, in the park, were also discovered the remains of the Mungo Lady, who was the oldest known human that was ritually cremated.Both Mungo Man and Mungo Lady were buried on the shore of the Lake Mungo, therefore, this region is considered the cradle of the Australian people and is part of the World Heritage sites list. Mungo is the site of the dried up bed of Lake Mungo, its basin is very flat and you could easily see where the old shore was. This lake dried up with the end of the last ice age. Around the lake, it can see many skeletal remains of humans and animals as well as an assortment of fossilized human footprints. These prints give a glimpse at how these early Australians may have lived their lives, hunting and exploring in the lake's swampy marshes. However, perhaps, the most important attraction of the Mungo National Park are the formations known as “Walls of China” and “Lunettes” which are huge sand dunes (around 33 kilometers long) created by the unceasing westerly wind that continually exposes amazing ancient remains. These dunes of mud and sand are located in the northeastern part of the park and were once shores of the lakes and are continually eroding by wind and water. This zone is a fragile crinkled landscape with fluted outcrops and shifting sand, which changes its color from a daytime khaki to the vibrant yellows, oranges, and deep wine reds of sunset. Besides, the park has a mega fauna that includes wombats as big as cow and goannas (Australian monitor lizards) that are 7 meters length, as well as geckos, emus and a great variety of bird life, like the “white fronted chat” (an endemic Australian bird).The Mungo National Park is located to150 kilometers from Balranald and 110 Kilometers from Mildura, which is nearest important town to the park. The unsealed roads that connect to this town with the park can become instantly impassable after rain. Mildura is around 400 Kilometers from Adelaide and 558 Kilometers from Melbourne. There are several roads that connect to Mildura with the main cities of the state, as well as a small airport in Mildura that receives local flights. The best time to visit this wonderful place is in spring and autumn, when the temperatures are milder and there are not great rainfalls. Just outside the Park is Mungo Lodge, where it can find meals, refreshments, a restaurant a motel and cottage accommodation. The park offers also several facilities for campers.History:During the Ice Age, Lake Mungo was a conglomerate of freshwater lakes. The Lake Mungo dried up around 14000 years ago. Nevertheless, this historical region has been inhabited by humans since 40000 to 60000 years ago; mainly by the aboriginal Australians; since, Europeans recently arrived to the region around 300 years ago. The first Europeans colonizers worked mainly in pastoralism activities, like the wool trade.Lunette and Walls of China at Mungo National ParkIn the summer of 1969, a young scientist discovered the remains of a cremated human skeleton, which later would be known as the Mungo Lady or Mungo Woman that is the oldest cremated human skeleton found in the world. But, six years later of the Mungo lady’s discovery, the same scientist found the remains of a male skeleton, buried in a pit strewn with ochre, which is currently known as the Mungo Man. Carbon Dating showed that the remains of the woman were almost 26000 years old; while the skeleton of the man was at least 62000 years old. Then, these human remains became the oldest of Australia, changing the history of the human occupation of this country. This fact caused a great controversy amongst the scientific community; since, this discovery threatened also the human history. Recently, there is a scientific consensus, which establishes that both skeletons are about 40000 years old.Currently, the Park is managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of New South Wales and representatives of the Paakantyi, Mutthi Mutthi and Ngiyampaa people. Besides, Aboriginal rangers from these three native tribes welcome tourists to the park and explain them about Mungo and the lives of their ancestors as well as about their own future. Inside the Mungo National park, there is also a Visitor Centre in the entrance of the Park, which is open every day and offers to the visitors a wide range of information about the Park, its cultural heritage and its important natural richness. Today the Mungo National Park is one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites and one of the favorite tourist destinations in New South Wales.